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Published: September 8th 2008
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KL Auschwitz I
The main gate with the cynical inscription 'Arbiet macht frei' (Work brings freedom) Next morning we headed east towards Poland en route to Oświęcium - home of Auschwitz. We were not sure where we were going to stop, just going to see how far we got and find a campsite when we were ready. Jac had just about sorted out the map so we didn’t have too much trouble getting out of the city - only one wrong turn - and we drove most of the day. The Czech roads were not too bad, we were not on the motorway so it was always single carriageway, but there were lots of trucks. When we were nearing the Polish border it must have been after 5 pm and we decided to carry on in and stop at the first campsite we saw, unfortunately the signage in Poland was not terribly good and the only campsite on our map we couldn’t find! So we kept on driving as the sun was going down until we reached the town of Oświęcium and we drove around some more searching for a place to stop. We were just about ready to drive out again and find a place to park on the side of the road when we spied
a small camping sign pointing towards an unlikely looking building with park-like grounds but no campervans or caravans in sight. I checked it out and sure enough we could camp there ok, so we were sweet - and it was directly across the road from Auschwitz! A bit creepy I suppose but it was nice and clean and only two other tents there, we even had a picnic table at our disposal. We had dinner in the dark, a lovely hot shower and settled in for the night.
Next morning after a good nights sleep (no ghosts but the sound of railway cars clanking in the distance was a bit haunting) we drove around the corner to Auschwitz Museum. To visit Auschwitz Museum is actually free but we paid to take the tour as it gave you a better insight into what went on and also provided a bus between Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II which were 3 km apart. We discovered that Auschwitz actually consisted of three separate camps; KL Auschwitz I which was originally built as Polish army barracks and the first to be used by the Nazis, KL Auschwitz II - Birkenau which was built to cope
with the huge number of prisoners being transported from all over Europe, and KL Auschwitz III - Monowice situated at a chemical plant so that prisoners could be used for cheap labour. The location was significant as it was out of the town so could be concealed and was also at an important railway junction. On a warm summer’s day it’s hard to imagine how hard it must have been to simply exist in Auschwitz I even without the hard labour, torture, experimentation and exterminations. Auschwitz II was worse, purpose built on 175 hectares it housed up to 100 000 prisoners and with crematoria and gas chambers could dispose of up to 4700 prisoners a day! Walking past the railway tracks, around the destroyed gas chambers and crematoria and into one of the barracks was haunting. The more you thought about what actually was taking place at this very place the more horrific it all seemed, and I am not sure if I would like to visit this place in the middle of winter as it might be a bit too real. It was however definitely well worth the visit and highly recommended to anyone.
We left Auschwitz at around
KL Auschwitz I
The first gas chamber and crematorium 4.30pm en route to Krakow about 40 km away. It was reported to be one of the most beautiful cities in Europe so we thought we would check it out. The short trip took a little longer due to roadworks which threw us off track and we once again ended up doing a few u-turns and driving blind until we could find a petrol station and buy a map. (Phew - we were getting low on petrol too!) Traffic was really busy but once we knew where we were and where we were going we were ok. We found our campsite and settled in for the night.
The next day, after catching up on a bit of washing, we headed into the city. It was about 5km away and after our experience with Prague we decided to figure out and brave the public transport system and catch the tram. We checked the price with the receptionist at the campsite who spoke a little English and managed to buy a couple of tickets at the ticket booth without too much trouble. It was a one price ticket which you had to validate (punch) yourself when you got on so that you
KL Auschwitz II - Birkenau
'Death gate' and railway tracks from the inside could show the inspector if he checked. If you didn’t have a validated ticket when checked you would be in trouble but we never saw any inspectors. The trip into the city was so simple and stress free we wished we had figured it out earlier, Dobby was secure in the campsite and we were free to wander and arrive back whenever we felt like it. We got off the tram near the centre of the city and walked the narrow streets of the old town towards the centre and the Main Market Square which was said to be the largest medieval square in Europe at 200m x 200m. Nearly all the buildings in this area are supposed to be ‘historically significant’, they certainly all looked old and well restored. The Main Market Square was big alright, and crowded with hundreds of people and more than a few pigeons. There must have been almost a dozen cafes with tables, chairs and umbrellas around the outside, numerous entertainers, 4 or 5 horse drawn carriages, an outdoor photo exhibition and a few statues and monuments. The most imposing building was St Mary’s Church with it’s two slender spired towers where a lone
KL Auschwitz II - Birkenau
The underground changing rooms of gas chamber and crematoria No 2, blown up by the retreating SS bugler plays every hour from one of the towers. The entertainers were quite neat as well from the living statues, to one guy singing both soprano then real low to another guy with a Michael Jackson puppet duplicating all his moves to the song Billy Jean - it was all a lot of fun. We then walked the short distance to Wawel Hill and the Castle which stood a bit above the city and next to the Vistula River. Apparently you had to book tickets to see inside the buildings as they limit the numbers, so we contented ourselves with a walk around the courtyards. The architecture of the cathedral seemed to be a mix match of brick and stone, copper and gold, Roman and Gothic - maybe. All old buildings seem to be changed over the ages but this one seems like no one was concerned about preserving one particular style when adding bits to it over the last 1000 years. Although not as big as Prague Castle it was still pretty neat and probably would have been better if we had taken the tour as well. We walked down and along the river before jumping back on the
KL Auschwitz II - Birkenau
Inside one of the womens brick barracks, up to 8 to a bunk, 3 high. no-hassles tram and riding back to the camping ground. It was certainly a beautiful old city but I will have to reserve my opinion on whether it’s the most beautiful. We settled in for the night and tried to figure out the best route through Slovakia for the morning.
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